Luke Who?

I've never heard of Luke Scott.  Luke Skywalker, Byron Scott, yes I've heard of them both, but Luke Scott?  No.  I disbelieve in his existence altogether.  Denial is self-preservation.  I advise you to try it.

Also, visualize world peace?   No, visualize the destruction of the non-existent Luke Scott--before tonight's game if at all possible.

Thankfully, I was spared first-hand knowledge of last night's debacle due to my son's game (also a loss, although to be fair the other team looked like it was on some killer designer steroids) and cooking dinner for some friends.  Trust me, the box score was grisly enough for me.

I trust that tonight's game will have a less spectacularly gruesome outcome.  

Strike First and Win

According to the Tigers Game Notes for May 27, the Tigers are 21-9 when they score first in games, and only 4-10 when the opponent gets on the board first.  I kind of hate knowing that.  Now I'll be having gastric convulsions when we fail to score the first run.

Now the Os are on a bit of a high after coming back in dramatic fashion to sweep the Jay birds last night.  They were down 8-3 in the bottom of the eighth and scored five runs in that frame to tie it up.  Things were then knotted up until the 11th when the Jays scored two runs to spark a glimmer of hope that they'd end their eight game skid.  Not so fast, Blue Jays.  The Orioles plated four runs to win 12-10, capped by a walk-off 3-run Nolan Reimold jack.

Os hurler David Hernandez, 23, will be making his major league debut tonight, going up against embattled Tiger Armando Galarraga.   Also debuting this series (Friday to be exact) for Baltimore is key prospect Matt Wieters at catcher.  No pressure young man, you're just being thrust into the starting catcher's role in the bigs, ousting veteran Gregg Zaun.  Actually, the Os have been very careful with Wieters over the past two years, so they feel he's definitely ready.

On the Tigers side, we'll be collectively holding our breath (especially those first couple innings) to see how Galarraga performs.  Must be a little hard for him being the "weak link" in the rotation this year after being the lone bright spot last season.  Also on the line is Magglio Ordóñez' 13 game hitting streak.  It hasn't been exactly a tear, more like 1-4 and the like, but I'll take that for starters.  Beat the streak!!

Oh Very Young

What will you leave us this time? --Cat Stevens

Well, very young Porcello will leave us with the satisfaction that he's the first rookie aged 20 or younger to win five straight games since the phenom Doc Gooden did it in 1984 (and 1985).  It's just the Sanders fudge atop vanilla ice cream to see him doing so well, developing his breaking ball and change-up, maintaining remarkable poise even after giving up the home run ball.  He can't celebrate with a beer jut yet, but this boy will be clinking glasses of high-octane Mountain Dew after tonight's little piece of history.

Once again, I understand that Rodney needed work, but will they never learn that a non-save situation for Fernando equals horror show?  I suppose the margin was wide enough to support a Rodney appearance in the non-save situation, but it makes for a grisly ninth inning.  And the funny thing is I'm a pretty big Rodney supporter.  I can't imagine how the haters feel.

First place is one nice place to be.  Here's to the Tigers still being in first place when it counts.

Running Up the Score

Let me start by saying there's no such thing as running up the score in the pros.  In the pros, you're entitled to score as many runs/points/baskets, etc. as you wish, and the opposing team has no right to whine.   There's no crying in baseball.  Bill Belichek is well known (well loathed) for running up the score, but you can't really get mad at him for that.  There are plenty of other reasons to heap coals of hatred on his head.

Having said that, I was just a smidge surprised when the Royals, during the bottom of the 8th inning of Tuesday's game, ahead 5-1, inserted a pinch runner for Mike Jacobs after he hit a double.  The reason for my surprise was this:  Greinke was on the hill.   You're not comfortable with a four run lead with Greinke on the mound?   Really?  Remember, his ERA is still sub one.  Remember, his only loss of the season came in a 1-0 duel.  Remember, he hasn't surrendered any home runs this season.

It wasn't that I was upset they were trying to add on, but like I said, a little caught off guard.  Actually, though, since the Royals don't have the most potent offense, they're probably always in manufacture mode as far as runs are concerned.

Update re:  crying in baseball.  Rod and Mario were just describing how Willie Horton and Todd Jones were crying in the clubhouse when the Tigers clinched a playoff berth in 2006 in Kansas City.  But see, those were tears of joy.  That's a whole different thing, you know.

A Greinke, A Greinke, A Fun and a Wonderful Toy

So we got Greinke-d for the second time this year.  At least we can’t say it hasn’t happened to a lot of other teams.  And really, we had our opportunities with some early baserunners, but they got erased by timely (untimely) double plays.

 

Um, did Edwin Jackson skip out on PFP this spring?  Errant throws by pitchers that remind us of the 2006 World Series are not permitted.

 

It’s a good thing the “Who’s Your Tiger” campaign has come to an end, because no one would have Brandon Lyon as their Tiger, and this would give him quite a complex.  I’m sorry, but when you come into a game and immediately surrender the long ball, it’s just not endearing.

 

It was nice to see Nate Robertson have a clean outing, even if it was only a third of an inning.  Straight zeros across his line.  Very neat and tidy.

 

That’s all I got for last night’s game folks.  Let’s just move on--quickly.

Saluting the Umpire

Rod and Mario brought to our attention a rather interesting little spectacle during today's Memorial Day rout of Kansas City.  Justin Verlander pitched seven scoreless frames for the Tigers.  Before he went into the clubhouse to hit the showers, he stood at the front of the dugout and waited until he could get home plate umpire Paul Emmel's attention.  He then gave him a little salute to acknowledge the good job the ump did in today's contest.  It struck me as a little odd.  It was like giving some of the credit to the ump for making favorable calls.  It was pantomime for "Hey Mr. Umpire, thank you for calling the strike on outside corner today.  I hope this acknowledgement will induce you to have a generous strike zone the next time you're behind the plate."  However, Rod and Mario said this little pitcher/umpire interaction is becoming more commonplace.  So maybe it's more of a courtesy, but it caught me off guard, nonetheless.

I guess you'd have to say the Royals disagreed with the assertion that the ump was doing a good job.  In the bottom of the eighth, there was a called third strike on Willie Bloomquist that appeared a tad low.  Trey Hillman then proceeded to get ejected for arguing balls and strikes.  It's all a matter of perspective.  From a Tiger fan's vantage point, this game was a beauty.  Sorry Royals.

Clete Thomas, I'm Sorry

In my ode to defense, I forgot to mention Thomas' brilliant assist, throwing a strike from right field to gun down Nelson Cruz at the plate.  Most excellent, Clete.  And now, you get your own post out of it, so it works out in your favor, see?